Latch device



Nov. 25, 1969 R. w. zERr-'oss 3,479,701

LATCH DEVICE Filed Aug. 16, 1967 United States Patent O 3,479,701 LATCHDEVICE Robert W. Zerfoss, Greenville, S.C., assignor to General ElectricCompany, a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 661,050Int. Cl. B65d 45/06; Ec 19/14 U.S. Cl. 24-73 7 Claims ABSTRAC'I.` OF THEDISCLOSURE Latch suitable for detachably connecting parts of a luminairecomprises a U-shaped base adapted to be secured to one of the parts, apivot lever having a first pair of oppositely projecting integral pivotpins detachably inserted into bearing apertures in the yieldablyspreadable arms of the U-shaped base, and a curved U- shaped springhaving looped ends engaging another pair of integral pins on the leverand having a bight portion for latching on a hook or the like on theother part of the luminaire when the lever is turned about it pivotpins.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved latch devicewhich is simple in construction, has a minimum of parts, is economicalto manufacture, and can be readily assembled and disassembled Withouttools.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a latch device of theabove type which is suitable for use in luminaires for detachablyconnecting parts, such as a reflector to a supporting housing or thelike.

Other objects and advantages Will become apparent from the followingdescription and the appended claims.

With the above objects in view, the present invention relates to a latchdevice comprising, in combination, a base member adapted to be fixed toa part to be latched to another part, the base member having spacedparallel arms formed with opposite bearing portions aligned on an axis,a lever member having at one end an Operating portion and at its otherend a first pair of oppositely projecting pivot pins respectivelyremovably fitting into the bearing portions of the base member formounting the lever member on the base member for pivotal movement aboutthe pivot axis, the lever member having a second pair of oppositelyprojecting pins spaced from the first pair of pins, and a U-shapedspring member formed with loops at its free ends and attached to thelever member with its looped ends respectively fitting over and turnableon the second pair of pins and having a bight portion adapted to engagehook means or the like on the other part for latching the partstogether, whereby the spring inember is movable into latched andunlatched position upon turning of the lever member about the first axisin snap-over-center movements.

The invention will be better understood from the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a portion of a luminaire having parts detachablyconnected together by latch devices constructed in accordance with theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the latch device ofthe invention shown in operative assembly;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the latch device;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the latch device showing the partthereof in latching and unlatching position; and

FIGURE 5 is an exploded .view in perspective of the latch device.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to FIGURE l, there isshown a luminaire comprising a hood "ice 1 having a support member orslipfitter 2 projecting laterally therefrom and a pair of hook portions1a on opposite sides. Reflector 5 having a refractor 6 secured theretois detachably mounted on hood 1 by latch devices 7, 7' constructed inaccordance with the invention, latch 7 being shown in released positionwhile latch 7' is shown in closed (latched) position. i

As shown in the exploded view of FIGURE 5, latch 7 is constitutedessentially of three parts, namely, U-shaped base member 8, Operatinglever 9, and U-shaped spring 10. Base member 8 is constitutedessentially by a metal strip bent into U-shape so as to be formed with abottom web 8a and upstanding spaced arms 8b, 8c. Web 8 has a pair ofapertures therein for receiving rivets or the like (not shown) forfixedly securing it to the outer surface of reflector 5. In theillustrated embodiment, a base plate 11 (see FIGURE 1) is placed on theunderside of reflector 5 below base member 8 and riveted or otherwisesecured to the latter with the reflector wall therebetween. In thosecases where the reflector or other support wall is sufliciently thick,plate 11 may be dispensed with. Arms 8b, 8c are formed near their upperends with opposite apertured bearing portions 8d aligned along an axis,eg., by forming extruded apertures in the arms, as shown.

Bottom web 8a of base member 8 may advantageously be bowed upwardly sothat prior to being riveted it normally has a convex curvature fromfront to rear, whereby after being riveted in place web 8a flattens out,thus drawing arms 8b, Sc closer together for firmly embracing pins 9b ofthe Operating lever therebetween when these parts are assembled.

Operating latch lever 9 is integrally formed at one end with a fingerOperating portion 9a and at its other end with a pair of oppositelyprojecting pins 9b which fit into corresponding apertures 8d in basemember 8. As seen in FIGURE 3, the distance between the outer ends ofpins 9b is somewhat greater than the overall distance between bearingportions 8d of base member 8 in the normal position of arms 8b, Sc, sothat lever 9 is held in positive assembly between the arms of basemember 8 while being pivotable about the axis of pins 9b and bearingportions 3d. Arms 8b and Sc are sufficiently yieldable, however, topermit being spread apart in order to insert pins 9b in apertures 8d forassembly, or to remove the pins therefrom for disassembly.

Lever 9 is further integrally formed with another set of pins `9c whichoppositely project therefrom along an aXis parallel to the axis of pins9b but spaced below the latter, i.e., arranged on lever 9 between pins9b and finger portion 9a. As seen in FIGURE 3, the distance between theouter ends of pins 9c is slightly less than the distance 'between theinner surfaces of the arms of base member 8, so that pins 9c do notinterfere With the turning of lever 9 within base member 8.

Latch spring 10, preferably made of stainless steel in wirelike form, isbent into U-shape so as to have a hookengaging upper bight portion 10aconnecting parallel arms 10b, the latter 'being coiled at their freeends to form loops or eyelets 100. Spring 10 is assembled on lever 9with its eyelets 10c respectively fitting over pins and with arms 10hextending upwardly therefrom along the front side of pivot pins 9b. Asshown, spring 10 is curved along its length and in the assembledarrangement it curves about the pivot axis of lever 9.

In assembling the latch device, the ends of spring 10 are are spreadapart sufficiently to insert loops 10c over pins 9c, and lever 9 is theninserted 'between arms 8b, 88 of base member 8 while spreading thelatter arms sufiiciently to per-mit pins 9b to be inserted into journals8d, in which they are then rotatably seated when the arms 8b, Sc areallowed to return to normal spacing. As will be understood 3 base member8 has previously been fixed to the apparatus on'whichrit is to'be'used.As seen from FIGURE 3, the thickness of Wire spring is greater than thespacing between pins 9a and the adjacent surfaces of base member 8, soas to avoid the possibility of eyelets 10c slipping off the pins in theassembled device.

In the operation of the latch device, finger piece 9a is raised, bghtportion 10a of spring 10 is placed in engagement With hook 1a, andfinger piece 9a is then turned downwardly so as to snap over center tothereby firmly resiliently engage spring 10 with hook 1a, thus placingthe parts in the latched position shown by so-lid lines in FIGURE 4. To`unlatch the parts, finger piece 9a is raised so as to turn lever9 aboutits pivot aXis to snap on the other side of center, thus permittingspring 10 to be released from hook 1a and the parts to be placed in theunlatched position shown by interrupted lines in FIGURE 4.

There is thus provided by the invention a latch device of simple andeconomical construction having few parts, which is easy to operate andreliable in function, and which requires no tools to assemble anddisassemble. Although the invention has been described as applied to aluminaire for latching parts thereof together, it will be evident thatit is applicable to a wide variety of other uses and purposes.

While, the present invention has been described with reference toparticular embodiments thereof, it Will be understood that numerousmodifications may be made by those skilled in the art without actuallydeparting from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, therefore, Iwish to have it understood that I intend herein to cover all suchmodificatons as fall within the tr'ue spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. Latch device comprising, in combination, a base member adapted to befixed to one of two parts to be detachably connected to each other, saidbase member having spaced substantially parallel arms being yieldablyspreadable and formed with opposte bearing portions aligned on an axis,a lever member having at one end an Operating portion and at its otherend a first pair of oppositely projecting pivot pins detachably engagedand held by said yieldable bearing portions of said base member forlmounting said lever member on said base member for turning about saidaxis, said lever member having a second pair of oppositely projectingpins spaced from said first pair of pins, said second pair of pins beingbetween said arms of said base member With the ends thereof spacedslightly inwardly from said arms, and a generally U- shaped springmember having free end portions turnably 4 engaging said second pair ofpins and a bght portion adapted to releasably engage hook means or thelike on the other of said parts, said spring member being movable intolatched and unlatched position upon turning of said lever member aboutsaid first axis in snap-over-center movements.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, said bearing portions comprisingapertures formed in said arms, said first pair of pins fitting into andextending through said apertures for turning therein.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, said free end portions of said springmember curving back on themselves for forming loops respectively fittingover and turnable on said second pair of pins.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, said Operating portion and said pairsof pins of said lever member being integrally formed therewith.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, said spring member being in the formof an arc curving about said axis in its latched position.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, the thickness of said free endportions of said spring member being greater than the spacing betweenthe ends of said second pair of pins and said arms of said base memberso that said loops fitting on said second pair of pins are preventedfrom vslipping off the same.

7. A device as defined in claim 2, said base member being formed of ametal strip having a generally U-shape including a Web portionconnecting said arms projecting therefrom, said web portion having meansfor fixedly securing the same to said one part.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,898,922 8/1959 Lyman 24-252 X3,158,284 11/1964 Henchert 16-126 X 347,101 8/ 1886 Ferry 292-247627,987 7/ 1899 Dick.

2,747,909 5/1956 Fuhringer 292-247 2,777,711 1/ 1957 Yokomaki 292-247 X3,147,929 9/1964 Wince 240-415 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,091,935 10/ 1960Germany.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R.

